Kwabena Onyina grew up in a polygamous family in Kumasi, Ghana. His father was a driver, but he played guitar as a hobby. His mother, a textile trader, sang in a Seventh Day Adventist choir. Onyina started playing guitar at age four, but fate drove him to music as a profession. Orphaned at 13, he left school and went to live with an uncle. Unhappy as a shoeshine boy, he turned back to music, singing in church and taking to the guitar--his "portable companion"--seriously. The boy used to practice even while in bed.

In 1950, Onyina set out on his own and became an itinerant musician. J.E. Owiredu, a university professor, took Onyina under his wing and introduced him to the music of jazz guitar greats like Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery. Onyina soon formed a trio and the group grew steadily. Along with singer Agyakum, he introduced jazz harmonies into highlife. In 1961, the group took first place in a national guitar band competition, leading directly to the young band leader's crowning as King Onyina.

Onyina accompanied Ghana's President Kwame Nkrumah on a tour of African states in 1963, and the following year, the band was invited to record for Decca in London. In 1972, Onyina formed a new group, Sweet Melodies, with other highlife veterans. Though still alive, he has not been active musically in recent years. A 1999 release of his classic Decca recordings documents Onyina and his band at a point of exceptional creativity.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre